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1
Pade, Caroline Ileje. "An investigation of ICT project management techniques for sustainable ICT projects in rural development." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002769.
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Poverty alleviation by means of rural development has become a priority among developing countries. In turn, rural development may be significantly enhanced and supported by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the use of which is highlighted by the emerging importance of information and knowledge as key strategic resources for social and economic development. An analysis of rural case studies where ICTs have been introduced, suggests that there are a number of barriers and constraints that are faced when taking advantage of these technologies. These include access to infrastructure, limited formal education, insufficient training and capacity building, financial and political constraints, and social and cultural challenges. These challenges threaten the success and sustainability of rural ICT projects. Sustainability is key to the effectiveness of a rural ICT project; therefore it is important to understand the concept and categories associated with ICT project sustainability in rural areas. The categories of sustainability which include social and cultural, institutional, economic, political, and technological, reveal critical success factors that need to be considered in the implementation and management of rural ICT projects. The project management discipline acknowledges the importance of understanding the project’s environment, particularly environmental factors associated with rural communities. The complexity of the environment therefore implies the need for a project to be undertaken in phases comprising the project life cycle. Project management practice for rural ICT project sustainability can therefore be examined, adapting the traditional project life cycle to a rural ICT project. A Rural ICT Project Life Cycle (RICT-PLC) that is sensitive to the critical success factors of sustainability is therefore proposed. In order to further investigate the phases of the life cycle of a rural ICT project, two case study investigations are explored: the Dwesa ICT community project, and the Rhodes University Mathematics Education Project (RUMEP) (MathsNet). A multiple case study analysis confirms the practices associated with the RICT-PLC model, and identifies additional characteristics, phases and practices associated with rural ICT projects. Finally, an enhanced RICT-PLC model is developed, that sets sustainability guidelines for ICT project management in rural areas and identifies the people, environments, technologies, systems, and requirements for ICTs to support rural development activities.
2
Chung, Hyunsook. "Governmentality in educational development : education, development and the role of ICT." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2015. http://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/556102/.
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Contemporary discourse in the related fields of education and development are increasingly dominated by notions of the knowledge economy, global competition, market compatibility, privatisation, performativity and entrepreunership. These dominant notions or imaginaries, proliferating through discourse across the world, impact on how we think about education and development and how thoughts are materialised in our everyday actions. Drawing on a Foucauldian approach to discourse analysis, this thesis problematises these inconspicuous, taken-for-granted notions, to make them visible and tangible, and to interrogate their role as mechanisms of discourse formation. It traces how such notions are manifested through the rhetorics, structures and trajectories of some instances of ‘education for development’. It works towards a better understanding of how the apparent post-WW2 neoliberal consensus has framed, transmitted and ratified these globalised and globalising discourses, and changed the dynamics of our social construction as citizens of a [post]modern globalised world, through the constitutive power of governmentality. Recent developments in ICT and digital education technologies have contributed to transfers or mobility of global education policies and a widening technologisation of educational systems. The thesis argues that these changes have been fuelled by transnational development programmes, such as Official Development Assistance funding, public-private partnership funding, and large scale philanthropy - under the rubric of bridging the digital divide. It further argues that these changes at the level of discourse are formed and sustained through relations of knowledge and power, which serve to legitimate the discourse and, in a kind of strategic game, make its dominant imaginaries appear more real. International policy makers, researchers and consultants are positioned at the centre of production and reproduction of the dominant discourse/s, and the consequent formation of policy and governance. The empirical data for this study comprises interviews with 51 such global knowledge workers, together with the texts of some key national and transnational policy documents. The study shows how these actors have themselves been constructed as subjects in the process of educational globalisation, and how the logic of the knowledge economy has been objectified and naturalised through this technology of the self.
3
Mlambo-Ngcuka, Phumzile. "Mobile learning facilitated ICT teacher development : innovation report." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2013. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/58641/.
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This Innovation Report reports on best practice in ICT teacher development (ICTTD) based on a literature study and an empirical action research study. The study was conducted with the assistance of a mobile-learning tutoring programme in four resource-constrained schools in South Africa. All the participating teachers had little or no ICT skills. It is predicated on the assumption that quality education helps in the reduction of poverty and inequality. It argues that the performance of an education system reflects the quality of its teachers, which is enhanced by in-service training, especially access to ICT-enriched lifelong learning (LLL) and continuing professional development (CPD). This requires teachers to acquire ICT skills and for their ICT learning styles to be considered. The main research question was concerned with how teachers acquire and improve ICT skills. The response to the main question identified the following important ICTTD enablers and best practice: collaborative learning, integration of pedagogy and subject knowledge with technology, leadership and use of practical ICTTD. The study took advantage of the ubiquity of mobile phones in South Africa, which as the most rapidly adopted technology in history, enabled learners to participate in the study. The participating tutoring teachers (TTs) were Life Orientation and Life Skills (LOLS) teachers who were asked to conduct online Life Orientation and Life Skills tutorials. They were chosen because they were least likely to be ICT competent. The participation in synchronous online tutorials gave the teachers a practical ICT user experience. They made use of the limited numbers of computers, and the learners used the more widely available mobile phones. The tutoring teachers (TTs) were supported by suitably qualified volunteer tutors (VTs) whose participation in the study improved both the tutor: learner ratio and the technology-enhanced learning TEL experience for the teachers and learners. The VTs and TTs were called Dr LOLS tutors. The interactions between the mobile learners and teachers were enabled by the social network MXit and the Chat Call Centre online (C3TO) platform, which is created by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria. All the teachers acquired new ICT skills during the study. Key findings of the study include: -- The importance of enabling the VTs to ‘teach from anywhere’ and at a time agreed with learners, compared to the notion of ‘learning from anywhere anytime’, given that most learners did not own, but shared the mobile phones they used. -- Mobile-learning can be a gateway to a ‘device agnostic’ technology-enhanced learning (TEL) experience. -- The lack of mainstreamed TEL policy in poor schools limits the contribution TEL can make to poverty and inequality reduction. Implications for educational policy include; making integrated ICTTD mandatory at pre-service training, a TEL policy that integrates mobile-learning and repositions TEL as part of poverty reduction imperative.
4
Almeida, Antonio. "ICT and sustainable development in an outermost region." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/133.
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The aim of this research project is to understand the link between the adoption of ICT tools and the economic development of a peripheral region. This study is focused on the current status of adoption of ICT tools by a sample of SMEs operating in a peripheral island, the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal. The overt optimism propagated by supra-national organisations such as the EU, stresses that the adoption of ICT tools constitutes one of the key strategic weapons in overcoming the peripheral/remote character and competitiveness problems of less-favoured regions. This argument is based on evidence (core region based) that suggests a causal link between investment in ICTs and economic growth. However, there is no evidence to prove such a linkage in peripheral regions. The argument developed in this thesis is that a large scale adoption of ICT tools may have neutral or even negative effects on regional development prospects, in the specific context of remote island economies. The development of this new line of reasoning assumes that the examination of the potential contribution of ICTs in increasing growth prospects should be based on: an indepth analysis of the territorial dynamics of the region under analysis; the growth options available in such a specific territory; the degree of preparedness to embrace ICT tools; and the local firms' response to the on-going technological revolution. It is concluded, in line with the expectations developed in the thesis, that the large scale adoption of sophisticated ICT tools - namely, the adoption of complex e-commerce platforms - has not occurred in Madeira. It is also evident that the widespread adoption of ICT tools cannot provide a short term answer to island development problems. The current growth path is strongly conditioned by geographical constraints and by specialisation in traditional sectors, which cannot be reversed overnight. However, although the adoption of ICT tools such as the Internet has not impacted upon the macro-economy level, it does have consequences at the micro (firms) level for those firms making intensive use of Internet functionalities. This study, although based on quite a specific geographical and economic context, may provide interesting theoretical insights to be explored further. In fact, it is suggested that the traditional EU approach focused on increasing levels of general awareness should be reoriented towards a more promising focal point such as increasing the levels of effective use of ICT tools. Finally, this research project provides evidence to suggest that in the absence of a favourable macroeconomic environment, the adoption and use of ICT tools only increases the 'selection mechanism' at work (ie which firms survive, and which fail). As larger firms have the greater capacity to adopt complex ICT tools, any advantage arising from the adoption of such technologies will be concentrated on those firms already at an advantage. In the end it can be asserted that the traditional development strategies (personified by investments in transport and other 'hard' infrastructures) should continue to be pursued for the time being, in order to avoid the negative consequences of reduced income transfers in the period until a new cycle of development can be established in islands such as Madeira.
5
Persson, Johan, and Andreas Torbiörnsson. "Banking the Unbanked – The Case of Mobile Money in Nepal." Thesis, KTH, Industriell ekonomi och organisation (Inst.), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-125614.
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This thesis investigates ICT diffusion in the context of developing countries, morespecifically in the case of Mobile Money in the Asian country Nepal. Mobile Moneyhas recently emerged in Nepal and has the potential to improve the lives of millions.The aim of the thesis was to examine the dominant business models in Nepal and thebarriers and drivers for the future diffusion of Mobile Money in Nepal. This was donethrough a case study consisting of a field study in Nepal and an extensive literaturereview in the field of ICT diffusion and Mobile Money. Interviews with stakeholdersin the Mobile Money business ecosystem, observations and databases fromorganizations such as the World Bank were used as data sources. The results showthat there are both barriers and drivers for Mobile Money and that the attitudes ofinstitutions, in this case the central bank, have a high impact on diffusion. The introduction of a technology into a new context was affirmed to be a complex,multi-dimensional process. However, in the case of Nepal, one of the solutions couldbe to improve institutional attitudes and make the regulations more accommodating.Detta examensarbete undersöker spridningen av informations- och kommunikationsteknik(ICT) i utvecklingsländer. Fallet som undersöks är ‘Mobile Money’ i Nepal.‘Mobile Money’ har nyligen introducerats i Nepal och har potentialen att förbättralivet för miljontals människor. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka dedominerande affärsmodellerna i Nepal samt vilka drivkrafter och hinder det finns föratt ‘Mobile Money’ ska spridas inom landet. För att möta syftet genomfördes enfältstudie i Nepal tillsammans med en omfattande litteraturstudie inom ICT spridningoch ‘Mobile Money’. Intervjuer med intressenter inom ‘Mobile Money’,observationer samt information från databaser från t.ex. Världsbanken har använtssom datakällor. Resultaten av studien visar att det finns både hinder och drivkrafterför ‘Mobile Money’ i Nepal och att inställningen hos landets institutioner, i detta fallCentralbanken, har en stor påverkan på spridningen. Införandet av teknik i en ny kontext, eller land i detta fall, visade sig vara en komplex,multidimensionell process. En lösning i Nepal skulle dock kunna vara att förbättraden institutionella attityden och göra regleringarna mer tillmötesgående.
6
Bankole, Felix Olubisi. "Investigating the impact of ICT investments on human development." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11873.
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Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical rereneces (leaves 114-128).
In the last two decades, the worldwide information and communication technology (ICT) market has been growing at a rapid rate. This has led to the global net increase in ICT usage and investments. International organizations, ICT vendors, policy makers have been trying to determine if such huge investments are worthwhile. However, the result regarding this issue is inconclusive, for this research area is fraught with complexity and existing empirical study is limited. Investigating the impact of ICT investments on human development requires appropriate methods that can provide a deeper understanding and which are based on IS perspective theory. Of particular importance are different aspects of ICT investments and the components of human development. For example, ICT investments consist of four aspects namely hardware, software, internal spending and telecommunication investments while human development components are GOP, literacy rates and life expectancy rates. If these variables are not modelled correctly, their effect on each other can be either under- or overestimated and the appropriate level of impact is therefore required.
7
Magagane, Raesetja Linah. "The development and technologizing of selected Sepedi ICT terminology." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002156.
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It is my wish that the Sepedi language speakers, through the development and technologization of certain Sepedi ICT terminology, are able to operate a computer in their own language, and implement the new developed and technologized ICT terminology (technologization). The pupils and students at their various institutions should be made comfortable in using the developed and technologized Sepedi language terminology. In the long run the Sepedi language speakers should be ensured access to the web in order to find information about Sepedi language, culture and terms in disciplines such as ICT. It is recommended in this thesis that higher learning institutions offer bursaries to students to develop all South African languages in such a manner that they can be used in all high status functions.
8
James, Martin Barrie. "State of the nation : a comparative analysis of teacher professional development with ICT between ICT PD clusters and non-ICT PD schools : research project." Thesis, University of Canterbury. School of Educational Studies and Human Development, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2803.
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Professional Development programmes in Information and Communication Technologies
(ICT PO) in schools have had significant growth since the development of successive
national ICT strategies by the Ministry of Education. Since the late 1990s the Ministry has
provided funding to clusters of schools to carry out professional development programmes
in the use and the integration of ICT into teaching and learning. Research, looking at the
impact this ICT PO is having on teacher skills and attitudes, has amassed large quantities of
rich data. By the end of 2004 40% of New Zealand schools will have been involved in an ICT
PO cluster. This research sought to make a comparative analysis of ICT PO and non- ICT PO
schools. The project looked at data from those exiting an ICT programme, those about to
enter a programme and those who had had no involvement in ICT PO cluster programmes.
This project found that schools who had not been involved in ICT PO clusters had high
levels of personal ICT skills and confidence on a comparable level to those who had
completed three years of ICT PD. Differences in the cohorts were apparent in the amount of
time teachers attempted to integrate ICT into their programmes for student's use. It appears
that:
• ICT PO clusters are making a difference. The key difference is that they increase ICT
usage by teachers and students.
• ICT PO clusters create high levels of anxiety for teachers on entry cluster
programmes.
• Other ICT initiatives are having a positive effect on teachers unable to access ICT PO
cluster programmes.
9
Hjelmervik, Ove Rustung. "ICT-supported knowledge representation for Development of Routines in industry." Doctoral thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Productions and Quality Engineering, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-1467.
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The ability to develop operating routines through the support of information and communication technology (ICT) is being valued by the business community as a source of competitive advantage in the information economy; and research concerning the facilitating role of such technology in relation to organizational learning and development of routines is therefore required. In this thesis the focus is directed at the relationship between communication technology and the development of routines in an industrial organization leading to enhanced value creation. The impact computer-supported knowledge representation has on an organization’s ability to change through development of operating routines are addressed, and propositions concerning the effects on different aspects of communication technology (e.g. system structure and functionality) and organizational environment (e.g. organizational learning, empowerment, systemic innovation, and absorptive capacity) are developed. The moderating role (i.e. the learning mechanisms) of an organization’s ability to learn from, and share, experience within a multilevel nested organizational structure is also discussed and evaluated.
The main goal of this study has been to reveal and explain how operating routines are developed and learned through ICT-supported knowledge representation, and on this basis build concepts and methods that can be used to improve the development of operating routines in business organizations. In this context we have developed a deliberate organizational learning model (DOLM). The main contributions of this work are the following:
• Development of operating routines may be enhanced through computercommunication given a multilevel nested iterative organization structure applying an ICT-supported deliberate organizational learning model.
• Empowered employees are willing to participate in the development of routines through such communication by sharing experience that may impact on operative and strategic activities, resulting in enhance productivity.
• Employees participating directly, or indirectly, in the design of ICT systems are positive to applying computers for the purpose of organizational learning and development of routines.
• Because of their capacity to absorb new knowledge within a context specific domain, experienced operational personnel understand new routines presented through ICTsupported deliberate organizational learning structure.
Many people take it for granted that computers support organizational learning, yet to the best of our knowledge little empirical proof has been forthcoming through the literature. We will argue that the development of operating routines can be enhanced through the application of a computer-based deliberate organizational learning model. Furthermore, our case identifies a multilevel nested iterative organization structure as a contributing mechanism for such a model to succeed. The current theory on empowerment does not say anything about employees’ willingness to apply ICT, nor does it suggest that employees are willing to share experience through the application of ICT. Our findings clearly indicate that empowered employees are applying ICT in the pursuit of developing routines and are willing to share experience through computers. Furthermore, our findings suggest systemic innovation theory to include employees that are indirectly participating in the design of systems as being positive to using computers. Such indirect participation includes employees knowing of colleagues participating in system design. While some theories argue that employees learn new routines through story-telling within a community-of-practice (COP), our data indicate that new operating routines transferred to experienced operators through ICT can be learned. Experienced operators learn new routines through having an absorptive capacity because knowledge will diffuse more rapidly among employees who have prior experience.
Our case study shows that organizations can develop operating routines supported by knowledge represented in ICT. This research contributes to the understanding that development of routines can take place through an ICT-supported deliberate organizational learning model applied within an employee-empowered multilevel nested iterative organization structure.
A best practice knowledge management (KM) system representing the firm’s operating routines is studied over time as it is being implemented in the business units within a corporation. Our focus is on change processes through development of operating routines by studying how the organization can learn from its experience, share such experience and from accumulated experience develop new routines. This thesis is a longitudinal explorative case study, basing its findings on in-dept interviews at operator, middle and senior management levels. We are basing our observations primarily on the cognitive/behavioural organisational learning theory. Based on our observations we mapped and analyzed if, how and under which circumstances an organization, supported by ICT-represented knowledge, is able to develop operating routines and thus enhance the value creation in the company. On this basis we have developed a set of “within-case” propositions. These propositions predict how and under which circumstances organizations may learn through the support of ICT, leading to development of operating processes and routines for the purpose of enhancing value creation in business organizations.
Some literature argues that knowledge is tacit and organizations learn only through practice. Our findings cannot confirm this. We have through the application of the cognitive/behavioural theory tested out organizational learning. Our research indicates that in context specific situations experienced employees can learn new routines through computer systems support. However, in order for organizations to learn, it is not enough to just implement a computer system. Our findings suggest a need for the implementation of a strategic process where the development of an integrated DOLM is the objective. Furthermore, certain organizational structures need to be in place for such a system to be applied resulting in capturing and sharing accumulated experience. In this sense strategy, change processes, and KM systems are intrinsically linked.
This research is based on a case study of Hydro Aluminium’s BestPracticeSystem (BPS), a successful in-house developed enterprise KM system implemented in the period 2003/4. The case study demonstrates the usefulness of the model to support change processes through development of operating routines, and the improvement in productivity that can be achieved by implementing a deliberate organizational learning model in conjunction with a process oriented manufacturing practice. Knowledge represented through ICT can drive value creation.
10
Park, Melanie Lynn. "Middle School Teachers' Professional Development Needs for ICT Literacy Integration." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2751.
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This qualitative case study explored U.S. middle school teachers' professional development needs in Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) literacy integration. Past literature has suggested that teachers should improve classroom practices that promote ICT literacy, but few studies have addressed educators' specific training needs. This study was designed to identify the unique professional development needs of academic teachers in a Midwestern middle school using focus groups and interviews to explore teacher perceptions of current technology usage as well as the barriers and/or facilitators of ICT literacy integration. The conceptual framework was based on Knowles's theory of adult learning, which suggested that adult learners are motivated when they understand the real applications of new information. Methodological triangulation was obtained using 3 teacher focus groups and 2 interviews with 17 academic teachers, 1 administrator, and 1 resource teacher. Transcription documents from the focus groups and interviews were color-coded to identify emerging themes. The findings revealed that the participants believed that their students currently use technology to access information, but rarely evaluate the validity of digital information. To address this deficit, a professional development plan was created with the goal of increasing teachers' ICT literacy integration skills in the area of information evaluation. This plan was designed to improve methodological practices and lead to better classroom instruction, creating positive social change by making educators better-equipped to meet the needs of their students. The local community will also benefit as students leave school better prepared to meet the demands of a technological workforce.
11
Jere, Nobert Rangarirai. "A methodological framework for ICT roadmap development for rural areas." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1016147.
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The use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) can support sustainable development within societies. ICTs have been supported by governments, private companies, non-governmental organisations, academic institutions and individuals. However, technological changes have made most ICT initiatives haphazard due to poor planning. There is no systematic plan on how to deploy services, infrastructure and devices especially in rural areas. For instance, in some cases, computers have been donated to communities in rural areas yet they are not being used, and ICT services have been deployed without the supporting ICT infrastructure. One of the solutions to addressing these ICT challenges is through the use of roadmaps to guide ICT solution implementation. This thesis proposes an ICT roadmap methodological framework to improve ICT roadmap development for rural ICT solutions. A composite methodological approach was employed in this research. This involves the use of qualitative research techniques such as participant observation, design exercises, workshops, focus groups and individual interviews supported by ethnographic studies. The Siyakhula Living Lab in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa was used as the case study. Studies were conducted to identify the current state of ICTs in rural areas, the future of ICTs and overview of roadmap developments. Rural users in South Africa, ICT experts in Europe and Africa, government officials and academic institutions were engaged to understand the current ICT planning, developments and needs. The author found that there are variations in individual ICT services required by rural users but, most ICT services in need fall mainly in the areas of health, education, entrepreneurship, agriculture and employment creation for rural people. These services require ICT devices and infrastructure which include computer peripherals, mobile phones, radios, televisions and wireless infrastructure, mobile infrastructure, satellites and broadcasting infrastructure respectively. It was found that the common future ICT projections expected in rural areas include: growth of mobile usage, social networking, increase internet services and localization of services. The roadmap framework is built based on the current state of ICTs, trends in ICTs, future technological projections and the plans currently been initiated in African continent. The ICT roadmap methodological focuses on how roadmaps could accommodate infrastructure, services and ICT devices to reach rural people. This should help rural users to be able to access public services within their respective communities using available ICT devices. ICT stakeholders could use the designed framework to improve the ICT roadmap development process for rural ICT users in Africa.
12
Matodzi, T., ME Herselman, and HR Hay. "E- learning: an allay in the development of rural South African communities." Journal for New Generation Sciences:, 2007. http://encore.tut.ac.za/iii/cpro/DigitalItemViewPage.external?sp=1001262.
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Abstract
The development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
technologies has changed the lives of human being throughout the world.
Obviously differences exist on how these developments have impacted on
developed and developing countries. E-learning is often viewed as a vehicle that
can bridge the digital divide between rural and urban communities in sharing
knowledge, enhancing educational qualifications, ensuring life-ling learning,
contributing towards alleviating poverty and accompanying social social-economic
problems. After assessing three community centres located in developing
communities, the authors propose a model for the sustainable implementation of elearning
in multi purpose community centres as a means to rural community
developments.
13
Honová, Veronika. "Role ICT při zajištění udržitelného rozvoje." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2011. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-114251.
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This thesis is focused on issues of Green ICT and application of its principles in small and medium enterprises in the Czech Republic. The aim of this thesis is to realize and evaluate a survey of the Green ICT implementation into management of small and medium enterprises in the Czech Republic. In order to achieve this goal it is necessary to define survey goals, create a questionnaire, choose respondents and ask them to complete it. Based on respondents answers it is necessary to evaluate the survey, make conclusions and meet the goals of the survey. The contribution of this thesis is the comprehensive presentation of Green ICT issues and mainly the survey realization and results evaluation. The conclusions arising from this survey provide insight into small and medium enterprises Green ICT issues. The conclusions summarize the current situation in the Green ICT implementation and characterize benefits which are considered to be important in small and medium enterprises in the Czech Republic, barriers which obstruct the implementation, and also factors which support the Green ICT introduction in enterprises. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part explains the sustainable development, Green ICT and shows relationships between ICT and sustainable development. In this part, there is also described an importance of Green ICT implementation into small and medium enterprises. The practical part is focused on the survey realization and evaluation. Firstly, the reasons leading to the realization of the survey are given, followed by the survey presentation, its goals formulation, survey questionnaire characterisation, detailed research questions definition and questionnaire description. The respondents answers are analysed, research questions are answered and then the conclusions are formulated.
14
Marais, Deidre. "ICT as an enabler for socio-economic development in South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/988.
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Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study aims to investigate the enabling role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a tool to develop the South African economy, taking into account the change in the economy from a primary to a secondary economy and tertiary economy. It also analyses the impact of apartheid on the social and economic conditions in South Africa (SA). The legacy of apartheid is still evident if we look at the underdevelopment of basic infrastructure in the rural areas. The report studies ICT development within seven provinces and reveals that major gaps exist in the development of the rural versus the urban areas. SA has come a long way fifteen years into democracy, having developed in various areas. However, structural challenges, race, gender and economic inequalities are problems that cannot be resolved in the short term but need long term planning to see desired results. The high poverty rate, inadequately skilled workforce and high unemployment rate in SA makes it difficult to convince local communities that there is a need for ICT. Introducing the internet in rural areas for example is also a major challenge due to the poor infrastructural development and the low penetration of fixed line telecommunication services. The generation of ICT infrastructure and access to this technology is a priority for the development of the South African economy. For SA to achieve their development goals, ICT infrastructure needs to be distributed equally. This is one of the goals of the South African government, more specifically of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA). In order for the South African government to create a competitive ICT sector, changes to the regulations and framework strategies in the telecommunications sector was necessary. The Telecommunication Act of 1996 was extensively criticized because the Telkom monopoly was viewed as a major restraint to competition for ICT development. In 2001, the Telecommunication Act of 1996 was modified to address the inequity in the ICT sector and to make telecommunications more affordable. Furthermore, SA signed the World Trade Organization Telecommunication Agreement to liberalise trade by opening up the world market to competition. There exists a lack of clear national strategy in SA that includes the input of all the stakeholders such as Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMME), government departments, private sector etc. The Information Technology (IT) strategy should have timelines with clear guidelines on where the IT industry is going. There is also a need for the identification of focus areas where high growth and development are required. South Africa has the capacity to develop into an ICT leader, but for this to happen the culture must change from being dependent on innovations of developing countries to becoming independent. ICT will not necessarily alleviate poverty, but it is merely an accelerator to develop people by changing information into valuable knowledge to empower communities. Poverty does not only refer to the lack of basic needs like water, shelter and food, but it is also prevalent when people are: • Unable to access property and credit to do business. • Vulnerable and powerless in situations like crime, economic downturns and recessions. • Socially and economically excluded from society. The ICT Charter was developed to address issues such as employment equity, skills development and socio-economic development, as well as to clarify treatment of multinational enterprises. The charter is the Code of Good Practice for the ICT sector. The automation of work processes, machinery and the use of technology has further led to obsolete positions in the workplace. The change in the structure of the South African economy and the emergence of the digital economy has brought about fundamental economic changes. For SA to keep abreast with global developments it must embrace the transformational stages and exploit the market opportunities of the digital economy. The conditions for creating an environment that is conducive to socio-economic growth include investment in ICTs, policies, human resources and a clear IT strategy. These conditions form the pillars on which the framework of this research report is built.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die bemagtigingsrol van inligting- en kommunikasietegnologie (IKT) in die ontwikkeling van die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie. Die oorgang in die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie van ‘n primêre ekonomie na ‘n sekondêre en tersiêre ekonomie word in ag geneem, en die impak van apartheid op die sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede word geanaliseer. Die nalatenskap van apartheid is nog steeds sigbaar as ons kyk hoe onderontwikkel die basiese infrastruktuur in landelike gebiede is. Hierdie studie ontleed die ontwikkeling van IKT in sewe provinsies, en dit is duidelik dat daar groot verskille bestaan ten opsigte van IKT-ontwikkeling in landelike gebiede vergeleke met dié in stedelike gebiede. Die Suid-Afrikaanse demokrasie het in die afgelope vyftien jaar baie ontwikkel in verskeie areas. Die resultate van die planne wat geïmplementeer word ten opsigte van strukturele probleme, rasseverdeling en ekonomiese ongelykhede sal egter eers oor die langtermyn sigbaar wees. Die hoë armoedesyfer en die oorwegend onvoldoende geskoolde bevolking, tesame met die hoë persentasie werkloosheid in veral landelike gebiede, maak dit moeilik om hierdie gemeenskappe te oortuig dat daar ‘n behoefte aan IKT bestaan. Dis ook moeilik om tegnologie soos die internet in dié gebiede te vestig weens die agterstand in die ontwikkeling van die nodige infrastruktuur en die klein aantal telefoonlyne wat beskikbaar is. Die ontwikkeling van IKT en toegang daartoe is ’n voorvereiste vir die groei van die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie. Een van die vereistes om dit te bereik is die eweredige verspreiding van IKT-infrastruktuur. Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering, en meer spesifiek USAASA (Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa), stel dit gevolglik as een van hulle doelwitte. Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering het besef dat veranderinge aan die wetgewing rakende die telekommunikasiesektor nodig was om ’n mededingende IKT-sektor te vestig. Die Telekommunikasiewet van 1996 het wye kritiek ontlok, aangesien die monopolie van Telkom geïdentifiseer is as ’n struikelblok in die ontwikkeling van IKT. Die wet is in 2001 hersien, waartydens die ongelykhede in die IKT-sektor aangespreek is, om sodoende telekommunikasie meer bekostigbaar te maak. Suid-Afrika (SA) het ook die World Trade Organisation Telecommunication-ooreenkoms onderteken, wat blootstelling aan internasionale markte en wêreldwye kompetisie verseker. Daar bestaan tans geen duidelike nasionale IKT-strategie wat insette van al die rolspelers, soos Klein- en Medium-Sakeondernemings, regeringsdepartemente en die private sektor, bevat nie. So ’n strategie sal tydroosters met duidelike riglyne aan die IKT-bedryf moet verskaf. Die identifisering van fokusareas waar vinnige groei en ontwikkeling noodsaaklik is, is ’n prioriteit. Suid-Afrika het die vermoë om ’n leier op die gebied van IKT te word, maar die kultuur van afhankliheid van die ontwikkelende lande moet omgeswaai word na ’n kultuur van onafhanklikheid. IKT sal nie noodwendig armoede in SA direk verlig nie, maar dit sal sorg vir die sneller ontwikkeling van mense wanneer inligting getransformeer word na kennis waardeur gemeenskappe bemagtig kan word. Die definisie van armoede is nie beperk tot die gebrek aan basiese lewensmiddele soos water, voedsel en huisvesting nie, maar kom ook voor wanneer mense: • Nie toegang het tot eiendom en krediet om handel te dryf nie. • Weerloos is teen geweld, ekonomiese insinkings en resessies. • Sosiaal en ekonomies afgesny is van die breër samelewing. Die IKT Handves is ontwikkel om ongelykheid op die gebied van indiensneming, vaardigheidsontwikkeling en sosio-ekonomiese ontwikkeling aan te spreek, en om riglyne vir multinasionale projekte te verskaf. Hierdie ooreenkoms vorm ook die gedragskode van die IKT-bedryf. Outomatisering in die werkplek het gelei tot die afskaffing van talle poste. Strukturele veranderinge sowel as die ontwikkeling van die digitale ekonomie het die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie fundamenteel verander. SA moet hierdie transformasietydperk omarm en in pas met die wêreld bly, en in die proses leer om geleenthede in die digitale ekonomie ten volle te benut. Hierdie ondersoek kyk na die voorvereistes om ’n omgewing te skep waarin sosio-ekonomiese groei kan plaasvind, insluitend beleggings in IKT, menslike hulpbronne, beleidsraamwerke en ’n duidelike IKT-strategie. Die genoemde vorm die fondament waarop die raamwerk van hierdie navorsingstudie rus.
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Beyers, Ronald Noel. "Promoting human capital development through ICT creativity and innovation / R.N. Beyers." Thesis, North-West University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/4248.
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There is a growing call for more skilled workers-especially in the scarce skills of science,
engineering and technology (SET). The current educational system is failing to address
these issues, learners are being ill-prepared to cope with the demands of a society that has
moved on; and learners are being prepared for a society that no longer exists in practice. In
order to address this problem, this thesis calls for a greater emphasis on issues of digital
inclusion, integration of whole communities, understanding of the dynamics of integrating
ICTs into the classroom, exploring opportunities for the expansion of rapid-prototyping at
school level and the promotion of digital literacy. Though this is not a definitive list, the
researcher has developed working solutions to each of these issues, as presented in five journal articles.
Investigations were conducted in the Tshwane area with male and female learners in both primary and secondary schools. The selection of the learners from both advantaged and disadvantaged institutions was left to the teachers. Design research was the main methodology adopted for this research. The investigations started in 200'1 and the bulk of the work was concluded between 2007-2010. Greater emphasis is placed on a qualitative approach with limited quantitative analysis.
The findings of this research indicate the need to extend the scope of the investigation and to massify the different interventions. The pedagogical shift has been away from information transfer, towards using information communication technologies to promote creativity and innovation in a stimulating constructivist environment This has led to an opportunity to track learner involvement in SET events over their school careers and to identify talented individuals. In addition, the findings indicate that there is little difference between learners from advantaged and disadvantaged communities. Added to this is the development of a solution to
address the digital divide through the creation of virtual interactive classrooms which can digitally include learners from geographically separated classrooms in remote communities.
The strategic importance of ICTs, creativity and innovation are key components of a Human
Capital Development strategy, especially at a time when there is a growing shortage of
scarce skills in key areas. Post Grade 12 interventions are short term solutions that are not sustainable. This thesis calls for the establishment of a SET pipeline from grassroots level, in order to grow the feeder stock for a national system of innovation as a long-term investment
in the future.Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.
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Podhraški, Ivan Edward. "The professional development of teachers' classroom use of ICT through mentoring." Thesis, Open University, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494623.
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This study is concerned with the effective mentoring of teachers. It is qualitative by nature and is organised as two case studies; the first being conducted in a primary school and the second in an inner city mixed comprehensive school. The study considers the process of mentoring as a mechanism to build on skills developed by New Opportunities Funding (NOF). It therefore considers the confidence and competence of teachers in using Information Communications Technology (ICT) in their teaching. Two main questions were posed: Can mentoring improve staff attitudes towards the use of ICT in the classroom? Can mentoring be used as a tool to enhance CPD in ICT and hence encourage staff to increase and develop their use of ICT in the classroom? Data was collected over a period of three years in the form of field notes, semistructured interviews, documentation, pupil group interviews, book scrutiny and classroom.
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Waller, Lloyd George. "ICTs for whose development? : a critical analysis of the discourses surrounding an ICT for development initiative for a group of microenterprise entrepreneurs operating in the Jamaican tourism industry : towards the development of methodologies and analytical tools for understanding and explaining the ICT for development phenomenon /." The University of Waikato, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2628.
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This is an interdiscliplinary qualitative study which uses an exploratory research design and builds on Fariclough's Critical Discourse Analysis methodology to analyze the discourses surrounding an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for livelihood development project in Jamaica, introduced by the United Nations Development Programme - the Jamaica Sustainable Development Networking Programme (JSDNP). The primary objective of this project is to provide the poor in Jamaican communities with access to, and training in ICTs. In this research, I specifically focus on the discourses surrounding the JSDNP Cybercentre Project for a group of microenterprise entrepreneurs in the Jamaican tourism industry to access the epistemological assumptions of this project. From the data collected it was found that at one level, the JSDNP Cybercentre Project encouraged specific ways of acting and organizing congruent with the configurations, processes and structures of corporate firms of industrialized countries, by representing the achievement of livelihood expansion through the use of specific ICTs in a particular way which excluded other discourses. The particular ways of acting and organizing promoted by the Cybercentre encouraged the use of non-indigenous technologies, undervalued indigenous technologies and excluded the indigenization of non-indigenous technologies. These discourses were incompatible with the operational and structural configurations of trans-temporal poor entrepretrepreneurs interviewed and were more favourable to the non-poor and spatio-temporal ones. One of the wider implications of the discourse therefore was that they play a fundamental role in perpetuating entrenched inequalities through the preservation of social practices, along with their associated systems and structures. It was also found that these modalities limited the operational processes of all microenterprise entrepreneurs who were exposed to the Cybercentre Project. These entrepreneurs have limited control over the configuration of non-indigenous technologies; their technological and creative capabilities are restricted; their ability to indigenize non-indigenous technologies impaired; and they are highly dependent on non-indigenous technologies (which themselves have a number of limitations).
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Möttönen, M. (Matti). "Requirements engineering:linking design and manufacturing in ICT companies." Doctoral thesis, University of Oulu, 2009. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789514292200.
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Abstract
The information and communication technology (ICT) industry has expanded rapidly during the past decades and has changed in terms of frequent technology development, increase in product complexity, constant time-to-market pressures, heavy price erosion and the decrease in physical dimensions. Successful product development thus requires effective requirements engineering and acknowledging the different needs of internal and external stakeholders.
A vital challenge for ICT companies is requirements for products typically changing during product development. In addition, requirements are not interpreted the same way in different parts of organisations. Today’s products being more complicated than ever, and customer segments more fragmented, requirements engineering and testing is currently a bottleneck for product development and production.
In this dissertation, requirements engineering in ICT companies is studied from four complementary viewpoints – current challenges, manufacturing requirements, external requirements, and optimal acceptance limits in manufacturing. The dissertation is qualitative and inductive in nature and is based on interviewing experienced industrial managers. The study included also an element that can be seen as constructive. The researcher has analysed the obtained material and made conclusions.
The main result of this dissertation can be summarised as requirements engineering having a coordinating role in complex ICT product development. In addition, this study highlights the potential of the design for excellence (DfX) concept for addressing a vast amount of requirements from numerous internal and external stakeholders. ICT companies should consider full integration of tools and databases related to requirements. Also, delaying decision-making in product development projects to a stage, where adequate amount of information is available, could help coping with changing requirements. Addressing the challenges of a large and complex organisation requires creating and documenting processes for a vast amount of issues. It may be sensible to consider the benefits of establishing a separate DfX management organisation for coordinating internal and external requirements. In addition, the managers in ICT companies should notice that in contrast to the conventional thinking, widening the manufacturing acceptance limits makes business sense in some cases.
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Belshalat, Adil M. S. "The role of information and communication technologies in the catch-up process for sustained development in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates." Thesis, University of Brighton, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.302291.
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Belt, P. (Pekka). "Improving verification and validation activities in ICT companies—product development management approach." Doctoral thesis, University of Oulu, 2009. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789514291487.
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Abstract
The main motive for this research arises from the fact that the research has been scarce on verification and validation (V&V) activities from the management viewpoint, even though V&V has been covered from the technical viewpoint. There was a clear need for studying the management aspects due to the development of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, and increased significance of V&V activities.
ICT has developed into a turbulent, high clock-speed sector and the importance of V&V activities has increased significantly. As a consequence, companies in the ICT sector require ideas for improving their verification and validation activities from the product development management viewpoint.
This study approaches the above mentioned goal from four perspectives: current V&V management challenges, organisational and V&V maturities, benchmarking another sector, and uncertainty during new product development (NPD). This dissertation is qualitative in nature and is based on interviewing experienced industrial managers, reflecting their views against scientific literature. The researcher has analysed the obtained material and made conclusions.
The main implications of this doctoral dissertation can be concluded as a need to overcome the current tendency to organise through functional silos, and low maturity of V&V activities. Verification and validation activities should be viewed and managed over the entire NPD process. This requires new means for cross-functional integration. The maturity of the overall management system needs to be adequate to enable higher efficiency and effectiveness of V&V activities. There are pressures to shift the emphasis of V&V to early NPD and simultaneously delay decision-making in NPD projects to a stage where enough information is available. Understanding enhancing V&V methods are a potential way to advance towards these goals.
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Brooks, Diane Barbara. "To go from murkiness to clarity: How do course members perceive the teacher’s role in an online learning environment?" Thesis, University of Canterbury. Languages and Arts in Education, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4203.
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The advent of the internet has changed the mode of delivery for many courses in the tertiary
sector and courses are now offered in an online learning environment with variable success.
There has been a range of studies concerning online learning however there is little research
about the role of information technologies in promoting professional learning for teaching
practitioners. Initially courses were posted online using the resources from a face-to-face course
for the course members to download. Now the capabilities of the internet allow for a range of
technologies to be used to enhance the learning in an online learning environment.
Educational practitioners undertake professional development to either develop their skills and
knowledge to improve student learning in their classrooms or for promotional reasons.
Educational practitioners want to be inspired by their teachers when undertaking professional
development. Some researchers point to the relationship between the teacher and the course
members as being an important factor in the success of a course. As many professional
development courses are being delivered in an online learning environment the course members
never meet the teacher and the teacher needs to develop strategies to allow these relationships to
develop.
The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of educational practitioners who are
undertaking an online professional development course. It sought to understand the teaching
practitioners’ expectations of the teacher in the online environment. A range of strategies was
used to collect the data including questionnaires, data gained from the online learning
environment, email correspondence and semi-structured interviews.
The findings from this study identify the importance of the teacher designing an online learning
environment to enhance learning, by having tasks and assignments related to the course
members’ own practice, and by having a range of interactions that provide reflection
opportunities to enhance thinking and learning. Other important findings included the importance
of the teacher taking an active role in the interactions. .
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Zheng, Yingqin. "Information culture and development : ICT for healthcare in South Africa and China." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.431150.
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Sumlaji, Kinda. "Outcomes of development processes by empowering women through ICT in public administration." Thesis, Örebro universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Örebro Universitet, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-35524.
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Kapatamoyo, Musonda V. "Information and Communications Technology (ICT): An Analysis of Zambia's ICT Policy Initiatives and the Role of Multilateral Organizations." Connect to resource online, 2007. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ohiou1179332141.
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Necejauskaite, Zivile. "Evaluating Donor-Funded ICT Projects : How Significant is Western-Centrism?" Thesis, Malmö universitet, Malmö högskola, Institutionen för konst, kultur och kommunikation (K3), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-41246.
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Donor-funded economic and development assistance for various countries and regions has been steadily increasing in the last half-century. According to the World Bank, the funding amount provided by this organisation has increased more than 40 times from 4.6 billion USD to 166 billion USD in a 58-year span (World Bank, 2018). The notion of development, which came to spotlight after the WWII, has been greatly debated with a lot of academics and theorists linking it to dependency and superiority of one over another. Since the beginning of the ICT revolution from around 1980s, technologies have become tools and enablers for new opportunities (Forester, 1987). However, with the great benefits, came significant risks, such as data and information misuse, data protection or cybersecurity. Still the ICT related development projects are often portrayed as silver bullets which can resolve matters such as inequality, access to education or poor living conditions. Funding organisations are putting digitalisation at the forefront of their agenda and communicate the change and positive impact they bring. However, the evaluation mechanisms used by those bodies raise the question of suitability as they are very much based on benchmarking against the Western standards of success or failure. This essay is aiming to investigate how significant is Western-centric worldview when it comes to measuring donor funded or co-funded ICT projects, be it in a form of a grant or a loan, as well as what role the terms impact and outcome play when communicating the results. It is also intending to analyse how the ICTs have been changing the notion of development and what conclusions can be drawn.
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Šafařík, Tomáš. "Analýza nabídkové strany ICT trhu." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2008. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-12429.
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This diploma thesis is focused on description, breakdown and objective analysis of available development indicators of the Information and Communication Technology market in the Czech Republic. In certain ways it relates to some prior theses prepared on the department of Information Technologies at The Prague University of Economics. The paper breakdowns period of last ten years, ideally years 1997 -- 2007, but in some parts the period is adjusted according to availability of statistical data. Also description of contemporary market situation and outline of trends is included to serve as future development estimation. Specific contribution of this work is analysis of data extracted from annual overview presented in Computerworld Top 100 by IDG Czech a.s. and data obtained from European Information Technology Observatory (EITO) yearbooks. Objective recognition of this data, their verification against information from different available sources and explanation by factual event provides comprehensive and independent view on particular influences which formed and affect Information and Communication Technology market in the Czech Republic. Whole paper and its individual chapters are as much as possible drafted as standalone parts and are seamlessly designated to overview dealt topic. Their objective is to provide summarized view of the topic with objective interpretation and comments. The most important from each part are basis for conclusion of the thesis. Conclusion provides the most important and interesting findings as well as future prospects considering areas of Information and Communication Technology market with great potential. Paper does not have the ambition of being isolated ultimative source of information about analyzed matters. It should be synoptical summary for anyone who wants to orientate oneself and as a good-quality source with references to external documents and other sources for those who want to deal with the problematics in more details.
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Mlejnek, Petr. "Model zralosti Green ICT jako východisko při zavádění Green ICT praktik v malých a středních podnicích." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2012. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-150229.
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The general topic of this thesis is Green ICT and its support. But specifically is this work focused on Green ICT maturity model, as a starting point for the implementation of Green ICT practices in small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic. The main goal of this thesis is therefore the definition of this maturity model. This definition primarily consists of defining the questions, possible responses and assigning weights for these responses from the perspective of Green ICT maturity. By answering these questions, Green ICT maturity of any small or medium-sized enterprise can be measured. To achieve the main goal, the areas of Green ICT and Green ICT maturity levels for small and medium-sized enterprises were defined. However, for making this maturity model a relevant result of the thesis, testing it in practice was necessary. For this purpose was therefore created an interactive website with self-assessment form, through which companies were able to evaluate their Green ICT. Than the results of this self-assessment, were analyzed. The personal benefit of this thesis is definition of the Green ICT maturity model with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, including implementation and verification in practice. This part is considered as practical. For theoretical part I consider defining the areas of Green ICT for small and medium-sized enterprises, which is also seen as personal benefit.
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Müller, Pavel. "Role ICT při zajištění udržitelného rozvoje." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2012. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-162816.
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This thesis is focused on the issue of ensuring sustainable development through ICT, especially focusing on the subsequent use of the theoretical knowledge in the implementation of Green ICT practices in small and medium-sized companies in the Czech Republic (SME). This work aims to achieve five specific side objectives, which are: Theoretical anchoring the Green ICT in relation to SME, the analysis of the potential impact of ICT on environmental sustainability, analysis of the available methodologies and ways of implementation of Green ICT and principles of sustainability, rating of Green ICT steps from different perspectives in order to select appropriate steps for the implementation and subsequent determination of methodical progress with implementing the most Green ICT steps into practice. Reaching these milestones is subsequently indicated achieve the main objective of the paper, which is a specification of a methodological framework for the selection and evaluation of appropriate Green ICT steps and a procedure for its subsequent implementation in practice. The primary tool for achieving the objectives of this paper is analysis of available and adequate current information resources focusing on the Green ICT and sustainable development, which is complemented by the author's expert reviews of Green ICT steps. This paper is possible to divide into two parts. The first part is contents of thoroughly analysis of information sources and based on them is subsequently implemented theoretical grasp of Green ICT. The second part is then specified own benefit of the paper through analysis and evaluation of Green ICT steps, accompanied by their methodology implementation.
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Härkönen, J. (Janne). "Improving product development process through verification and validation." Doctoral thesis, University of Oulu, 2009. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789514291661.
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Abstract
The workload of Verification and Validation (V&V) has increased constantly in the high technology industries. The changes in the business environment, with fast time-to-market and demands to decrease research and development costs, have increased the importance of efficient product creation process, including V&V. The significance of the V&V related know-how and testing is increasing in the high tech business environment. As a consequence, companies in the ICT sector have pressures for improving product development process and verification and validation activities. The main motive for this research arises from the fact that the research has been scarce on verification and validation from product development process perspective.
This study approaches the above mentioned goal from four perspectives: current challenges and success factors, V&V maturity in different NPD phases, benchmarking automotive sector, and shifting the emphasis of NPD efforts.
This dissertation is qualitative in nature and is based on interviewing experienced industrial managers, reflecting their views against scientific literature. The researcher has analysed the obtained material and made conclusions.
The main implications of this doctoral dissertation can be concluded as a visible need to shift the emphasis of V&V activities to early NPD. These activities should be viewed and managed over the entire NPD process. There is a need for companies to understand the V&V maturity in different NPD phases and develop activities based on this understanding. Verification and validation activities must be seen as an integral element for successful NPD. Benchmarking other sectors may enable identifying development potential for NPD process. The automotive sector being a mature sector, has developed practices for successfully handling requirements during NPD. The role of V&V is different in different NPD phases. Set-based type V&V can provide required understanding during early product development. In addition, developing parallel technological alternatives and platforms during early NPD also support shifting the emphasis towards earlier development phases.
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Van, Aswegen Petrus Lafras. "'n Analise van IKT-integrasie in hoërskole in die Potchefstroomdistrik / P.L. van Aswegen." Thesis, North-West University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/4328.
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Sano, Ryuhei Bello Walden. "An analysis on ICT policy for development by regional development banks : a case study of the inter-american development bank /." Abstract, 2006. http://mulinet3.li.mahidol.ac.th/thesis/2549/cd394/4837420.pdf.
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Schols, Maurice. "Continuing technology professional development : a technology learning preferences instrument to support teacher educators' workplace learning." Thesis, University of Roehampton, 2016. https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/studentthesis/continuing-technology-professional-development(07a1731f-420f-42ed-af16-7956aeea8eda).html.
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The knowledge-based economy, advances in information and communication technologies and new pedagogical perspectives all influence the need to improve competencies in the 21st century. Innovative educational ideas and concepts have transformed the roles of teacher educators and their students. Adequate technology training is therefore a prerequisite for the teacher educator to develop prospective teachers who can use new technologies to support and improve their students’ achievement gains. However, many of these efforts fail since they are mostly based on a formal, institutional delivery of instrumental knowledge and skills. Adequate technology training is a major factor that can help to promote the uptake of emerging technologies into the curriculum, which in turn benefits students (Yoon et al, 2007; Collins & Halverson, 2009; Earley & Porritt, 2014). This research seeks to add to current knowledge about teacher educators’ technology professionalisation and to provide an instrument for the purpose of mapping teacher educators’ technology learning preferences in the workplace. The technology learning preferences instrument (TLP-instrument) designed, implemented and evaluated in this research is intended to create a link between teacher-educators’ technology learning needs in the workplace and the way in which professional development programmes should be tailored to meet teacher educators’ evolving learning needs. The investigation employs a design-based research approach which is cyclical and appropriate for addressing complex problems in educational practice for which no clear guidelines for solutions are available. To collect and analyse the data, a mixed methods approach was used. The rationale for mixing both types of research is that qualitative and quantitative methods complement each other (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2011). Findings in this dissertation and in follow-up research are intended to lead to more effective technology professionalisation programmes through suggestions for better design and development based on teacher educators’ learning needs.
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Birks, Peter. "An investigation into a school-based ICT PD program." Queensland University of Technology, 2005. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16099/.
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This two-year longitudinal study sought to describe and evaluate a newly developed information and communication technology (ICT) environment and the associated schoolbased ICT professional development (PD) project within a State Government primary school. The overall aim of the research study was to investigate the most effective requirements to support teachers to be skilled, knowledgeable and confident in the use of ICT in their teaching roles. The teachers were the focus of the Research Study and not the students. The ICT environment and the professional development project's effectiveness was evaluated using data collected from participating teachers and the literature regarding components of effective ICT professional development. The Research Study used qualitative and interpretive methods to illuminate and expand on what it means to provide effective ICT PD within the primary school context. The components of the ICT-enhanced environment were studied in detail to provide feedback and findings that may also be useful in other educational settings with modification. The study provided evidence that, apart from providing and developing individual ICT PD components, a collection of inter-related components was necessary at the same time for successful ICT PD to be achieved. The components of the PD project have been discussed individually and collectively in terms of their effect on the research subjects, the teachers themselves. Four global factors were identified for effective ICT PD and they were used as a framework for the study. These were teacher characteristics, authenticity, support and the ICT-enhanced environment.
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Ganes, Anders, and Snorre Nævdal. "Software Contracting and Agile Development in the Norwegian ICT Industry : A Qualitative Survey." Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Computer and Information Science, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-9727.
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This thesis takes a closer look at how various contract models affect the ability to use agile software development, and the work being done to help improve contracts so they better facilitate agile principles. Agile development methods are becoming increasingly popular, while most contractual standards are meant for plan-based development methods. There are done little research regarding the subject, but it is a growing concern in the industry. Work is also currently done on Norwegian contractual frameworks that aim to update two commonly used contracts. The research done consist of several interviews with industry practitioners representing Norwegian consultancy companies experienced in agile development methods. It also includes interviews of contract experts in addition to a search and study of the literature on the subject. These interviews have been analyzed and compared to literature on the subject. The results of the research revealed a number of challenges with today's contract models. Several discoveries showed difficulties with bureaucracy and customer involvement. Using traditional contracts could also easily require more upfront work than what is sensible when using agile methods. It is possible to bypass these challenges by either adapting the development method, or putting the contract aside.
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Burstow, Robert John. "The actuality of continuing professional development : ICT and change in one secondary school." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.434323.
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Amaral, Luiz Fernando do. "ICT and agricultural development: the impacts of information and communication-technology on agriculture." Universidade de São Paulo, 2017. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/101/101131/tde-04072017-113450/.
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Within a context of continuous population and economic growth, the future projections for agricultural products\' demand is impressive. At the same time, agriculture already exercises significant pressure on natural resources. As a consequence, the world needs to produce higher agricultural volumes while limiting agriculture\'s impacts on the environment. This thesis evaluates whether empirical indications exist that demonstrate how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure development and usage could impact the sustainable development of agriculture. Drawing from the empirical literature on infrastructure\'s impacts on development, two statistical models are created. The first analyses impacts of Internet and mobile usage on cereal yields at a country level using Fixed Effects Panel Regression for 212 countries in five 5-year periods, from 1990 to 2014. The second uses a Propensity Score Matching Model to evaluate how the installation of 3G technology during the period between 2005 and 2009 in Brazilian municipalities located in the Amazon region affected deforestation. Based on the methodology and datasets used, results indicate that the growth of Internet users could have a positive impact on cereal productivity in a country. Results for mobile device users are inconclusive. Finally the second models indicate that municipalities in which 3G technology was installed had lower deforestation rates than similar municipalities lacking 3G technology.Em um contexto de crescimento populacional e econômico, as projeções de demanda para produtos agrícolas no futuro são expressivas. Ao mesmo tempo, a agricultura já exerce pressão significativa nos recursos naturais do planeta. Como consequência, é preciso obter maior oferta de produtos e, ao mesmo tempo, limitar o impacto ambiental da atividade agrícola. Essa tese avalia o papel da infraestrutura e uso de Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação (TIC) no desenvolvimento sustentável da agricultura. Baseando-se na literatura empírica sobre impacto de infraestrutura no desenvolvimento, dois modelos estatísticos foram criados. O primeiro analisa os impactos do uso de internet e telefones celulares na produtividade de cereais utilizando uma regressão em painel de efeitos fixos para 212 países no período entre 1990 e 2014. O segundo utiliza um modelo Propensity Score Matching para avaliar o impacto da instalação de tecnologia 3G no desmatamento de municipios localizados na região da Amazônia Legal brasileira. De acordo com a metodologia e dados utilizados, os resultados indicam que um crescimento no uso da internet pode positivamente impactar a produtividade de cereais em um país. Para o caso do uso de telefones celulares os resultados são inconclusivos. Finalmente, de acordo com o modelo, há indicações de que municipios que receberam a tecnologia 3G no período estudado tiveram taxas de desmatamento reduzidas quando comparadas a municipios similares que não receberam a tecnologia.
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Macefield, Ritchie C. P. "The development and evaluation of the Derivative Model approach to improving ICT usability." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2007. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/34010.
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A novel approach to improving the usability of contemporary pervasive ICT systems, through the provision of an accurate conceptual model, was developed. The approach was then investigated through a 'proof of concept' study to evaluate whether rt was viable and would improve the usability of a system. Much of this work is related to that published in Macefield (2005a, 2005b, 2007b). The approach considered is termed the Derivative Model approach because the conceptual model provided to the user is derived from the conceptual model used by the designers of the system, and as a result is an accurate explanation of the system's conceptual model. This approach offers users both an Interface View and a Structural View of the system. The Interface View is designed to engender better functional mental models in the user. The Structural View is designed to engender better structural mental models in the user.
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Mamba, Malungelo Siphiwosami Njinga. "A framework to guide development through ICT in rural areas in South Africa." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007024.
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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is widely regarded as a key tool for bringing about development to people who live in underserved areas. Technologies such as mobile phones and Wi-Fi are seen as advantageous because they can be made available to poor places without the cost of building extensive physical infrastructure. However, researchers argue that ICTs have failed to live up to their potential in the context of development. Researchers point out developing countries lack frameworks to guide them through the implementation of ICTs in this context. The objective of this study is to come up with a framework that can be used in rural areas in South Africa to implement ICT projects. The researcher interviewed individuals who have been directly involved in an ICT initiative in a rural setting in the Eastern Cape Province to learn from their experiences. The researcher also studied publications that have been produced from these initiatives in order to gain a richer understanding. The findings of the study show that participants share similar views about how ICT projects should be approached and implemented in rural areas in South Africa. The views are grouped according to similarity into themes and discussed in detail in the study. From these themes a framework that can help implement ICT projects in rural areas is developed.
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Bardelli-Danieli, Andrea. "Interpreting ICT policy processes in developing countries : a case study of Uganda." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2011. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/interpreting-ict-policy-processes-in-developing-countries-a-case-study-of-uganda(c672c237-c199-4974-b7ee-ce3db62da99b).html.
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Several studies suggest that the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries (DCs) can help such countries achieve national development goals - especially if accompanied by appropriate government policies designed to regulate and promote the use and the diffusion of ICTs in the national context. Over the past few years 'ICT policy' has thus become something worthy of academic attention, in particular in the ambit of ICT-for-development (ICT4D) literature. Scholarly studies on the subject have so far focused however primarily on policy content, and have often been prescriptive and/or evaluative in nature. Relatively less attention has been paid instead to the processes by which ICT policy is made in DCs - a lacuna reflected also in the relative scarcity, in the realm of ICT4D literature, of detailed theoretical frameworks with which to study ICT policymaking practice in DCs. This study intends to help fill this lacuna, by proposing an innovative framework for the analysis of ICT policy processes in DCs, and subjecting such a framework to a first 'proof of concept', through its application to a particular case (ICT policymaking in Uganda). In recognition of the importance of the cognitive aspects of policy practice, the framework proposed is interpretive in nature, and is organised around three 'movements', or steps: an analysis of the linguistic and non-linguistic constructs employed by policy actors to articulate discourse on ICT policymaking; an analysis of the key discourses around ICT policy constructed by policy actors in specific settings; and an analysis of the composition and the strength of the 'alliances', or coalitions, of actors that construct and propagate specific discourses in such settings. The ultimate purpose of this type of analysis is to understand how specific discourses on, or 'versions' of the ICT policy process gain particular purchase and acceptance in given national settings, thereby providing ICT policy actors with elements for reflection on the practices they are involved in. The framework proposed is particularly innovative in that integrates elements derived from mainstream political science and policy analysis literature - thus going some way in solidifying theorization in the ambit of ICT4D research. The study draws conclusions at two levels: at case level, findings indicate that Ugandan discourse around ICT policymaking appears to be constrained by the existence of a powerful, overall political discourse that defines ICT policy as necessarily 'participative'; at the level of theory and method, findings suggest that the framework proposed appears to be a viable and useful one for research on ICT policymaking practice in DCs.
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Ahmad, Mirwary, and Birgeet Kaur. "Sustainability Aspects in ICT Engineering Thesis Works." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för informations- och kommunikationsteknik (ICT), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-191131.
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An evaluation of thesis reports performed by students from the degree programme Computer Engineering, TIDAB, that was made by UKÄ, The Swedish Higher Education Authority, showed that there was a lack of consideration of environmental and sustainability aspects in the thesis reports, leading to many students not meeting the criteria in the degree objectives regarding this aspect. The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to improve students’ ability in considering the important aspects of sustainability in their thesis works, by providing them with guidelines which they can follow and implement during their thesis work that will enable them to reach the level ‘Very High Quality’. A literature study was performed thoroughly in conjunction with reviewing previous thesis reports and conducting expert interviews as an approach to find a solution to the problem. The outcome of the analysis was three methods that was developed, which the students can use as guidelines in their thesis work. A set of guidelines, a table with skill sets and the SEMAT Essence Kernel card for sustainable development was the resulting methods that will help the students to at minimum accomplish the criteria for ‘High Quality’ on the objective "Demonstrate an understanding of technology capabilities and limitations, its role in society and people’s responsibility for its use, including social and economic aspects, environmental and safety aspects" when the methods are followed.En utvärdering av examensarbeten utförda av studenter från utbildningsprogrammet Datateknik, TIDAB, gjort av UKÄ, Universitetskanslersämbetet, visade att det fanns en brist på hänsynstagande till miljö- och hållbarhetsaspekter i rapporterna, vilket ledde till att flera studenter inte uppfyllde kriterierna i examensmålen gällande denna aspekt. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att förbättra elevernas förmåga att ta hänsyn till de viktiga aspekterna av hållbarhet i sina examensarbeten genom att ge dem riktlinjer som de kan följa och genomföra under sina examensarbeten, som gör det möjligt för dem att uppnå nivån ’Mycket Hög Kvalité’. En litteraturstudie genomfördes noggrant i samband med genomgång av tidigare examensarbeten, och intervjuer med ledande experter gjordes, som en metod för att hitta en lösning på problemet. Utfallet av den utförda analysen var tre metoder som har utvecklats, vilket studenterna kan använda som riktlinjer i sina examensarbeten. En uppsättning av riktlinjer, en tabell med kompetenser och SEMAT Essence Kernel kort för hållbar utveckling var de resulterande metoder, som ska hjälpa studenterna att åtminstone uppnå kriterierna för ’Hög Kvalité’ på målet "Visa förståelse för tekniska möjligheter och begränsningar, dess roll i samhället och människors ansvar för dess användning, inklusive sociala och ekonomiska aspekter, miljö- och hållbarhetsaspekter" när metoderna följs.
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Rejnková, Petra. "Lokalizace a přizpůsobení metodiky OpenUP." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2010. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-72473.
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These days there are a lot of methodologies which can be used for IS/ICT implementation projects. Apart from traditional rigorous methodologies such as Rational Unified Process (RUP), there are also agile methodologies, which are characterized by positive approach to change and iterative development with very short iterations. One of these methodologies is OpenUP, which combines both agile and rigorous principles. OpenUP covers the most important factors necessary to focus on during software development, but on the other hand it also respects the fact that each project is unique. That is why it offers the possibility to extend or customize its content for specific requirements. The main objective of this diploma is to localize and customize OpenUP methodology for the projects which are running within the courses of software engineering at the University of Economics in Prague. The result if this customization and localization is a methodology suitable for small software projects called MMSP. This diploma also pursues other objectives like to find and characterize tools suitable for administration and customization of the methodology. These objectives were achieved by deep analysis of various sources about OpenUP methodology, information system development projects and methodologies of IS/ICT development. The resulting methodology was not only based on these information but it also results from experiences and best practices from the projects at the University of Economics in Prague and from consultations with experts in practice. The key benefit of this diploma is a complete Czech localized methodology MMSP which can be used both for school and real projects of IS/ICT development. MMSP is available in a form that can be easily embraced, further customized and administrated.
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Wong, Chee Kong. "Information and communications technology (ICT), productivity and economic growth in China." UWA Business School, 2007. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2008.0009.
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In the current literature on productivity and economic growth, many studies have explored the relationship between information and communications technology (ICT) and growth. In these studies, ICT capital stock is treated as an individual input in the production process that contributes to output growth. In fact, ICT is found to be a key driver of productivity growth in the developed economies. However, few empirical studies deal with China which has in recent years become one of the world's largest ICT markets and production centres. The lack of empirical work in this field contrasts sharply with the wealth of literature which presents background and descriptive studies of China's high technology sectors that include the telecommunications, the computer and the Internet sectors. This dissertation attempts to fill the void in the literature by examining the role of ICT in China's economy over the past two decades. It aims to develop a framework which emphasizes ICT as a production factor and apply it to interpret China's economic growth. The dissertation contributes to the empirical literature by focusing on the following core aspects underlying the linkage between ICT and economic growth. First, it attempts to estimate the size of China's ICT capital stock using the perpetual inventory method. Second, based on such estimates, the dissertation measures the contribution of ICT to China's economic growth by means of a production function model that segregates ICT from all other forms of capital. Third, the dissertation examines the impact of ICT on technical efficiency in China's regions by applying a stochastic frontier model. Lastly, the dissertation looks at the demand aspect of the ICT industry by estimating and projecting demand for ICT services, namely, the telecommunications and computer markets in China. According to this study, ICT capital is found to be a positive driver for the Chinese economy, and is responsible for about 25% of the country's economic growth, although the percentage varies at different periods. ICT capital is also found to have a positive and significant impact on technical efficiency in the Chinese regions. However, the disparity between the coastal and inland regions in terms of technical efficiency scores is found to be very wide, due to the bulk of ICT investment going into the municipal cities and coastal provinces. It is also found that China may be facing the beginning of a period of strong productivity growth driven by increased investment in ICT, especially innovative investment. Furthermore, projections of demand show that the majority of Chinese citizens will have access to a fixed-line telephone or the mobile phone in five years from now, while about half of the Chinese population is expected to use the computer by 2010.
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Jirák, Jaroslav. "Analýza konceptu Green ICT pro malé a střední podniky." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2011. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-114102.
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This thesis deals with the issue of sustainable development and its relation to information and communicaton technologies in the business background. The whole concept is called Green ICT. The main aim of the thesis is to provide an insight into the legislative and contentual aspects of Green ICT and its relation to business informatics, suggesting several practices for use in small business. The first part defines all important legislative aspects and summarizes the view of Green ICT according to several authors and describes and compares the certificates of physical ICT. Next part is aimed to business environment and deals with the most frequently occuring barriers and motivation factors. The small and medium business is specified and the requirements of managing and monitoring the impact on the envirnoment is analyzed. Next part of the thesis analyzes defined areas of potential implementation of Green ICT and creates relevant practices to improve the power consumption and the impact on the environment, on the basis of available case studies and research findings For every practice, its potential technical solution, effects and risks are considered. These practices are then analyzed and appraised in terms of MMDIS methodics. The added value of the thesis is comprehensive description and analysis of individual practices of Green ICT from different points of view and analysis and comparison of available certifications of ICT devices.
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Dawes, Lyn. "The National Grid for Learning and the professional development of teachers : outcomes of an opportunity for change." Thesis, De Montfort University, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/4151.
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Lascot, Paul Michael John. "Analysis of the factors influencing job performance in the ICT sector in South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1009530.
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To achieve efficacy in the work place, employees need to perform at optimal levels. Researching and implementing strategies to improve job performance are fundamentally important to the development of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in South Africa. However, scant research had been performed in this area. This study sought to present exploratory research in this emergent, rapidly expanding sector of the South African economy. Its primary aim was to investigate which affective factors exhibited an influence on job performance of workers in this sector. Mixed methods research was employed to analyse factors contributing to the five independent variables of demographics, skills and education, job satisfaction, motivation and experience, by investigating their influence on the dependent variable of job performance. The five independent variables were presented within a proposed conceptual framework of related and grouped affective factors. An online survey was constructed to collect data and perceptions from individuals currently employed in any capacity, in the ICT sector in South Africa. Ninety-nine suitable responses were received. The simple statistical technique of chi-square testing for independence was used to test the hypothesised relationships between the above-mentioned independent variables and the dependent variable of job performance. The empirical results revealed that many of the affective factors influencing the job performance of employees in the ICT sector in South Africa, are those that contribute to job satisfaction and motivation. These include aspects such as fair remuneration; transparent and clear organisational communication; managerial support and guidance; access to educational and career opportunities; and pleasant workplaces. In view of these findings, the study concluded that organisations that wish to improve their employees’ job performance, or attract and retain high-performing individuals, should formulate and implement policies and strategies that take into account these significant factors.
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Tam, Sze-ying. "The development of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry in China, 1995-2005." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2006. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B36549265.
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Leung, Kin Ping. "Effects of Professional Development on Teachers' Integration of ICT in Teaching in Hong Kong." Queensland University of Technology, 2004. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16079/.
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This study produced a theoretically grounded model of professional development suited for supporting teachers in Hong Kong to embed Information and Communication Technologies into the Primary School Curriculum. The model was developed and tested over two years through an intervention based on participatory action research involving school staff and the researcher as a critical friend. The model was tested through the analysis of extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of teacher behaviours and curricular documents. Teachers' beliefs and practices were found to change significantly during the first year of the project and were further refined during the second year. Leadership, collegial support, physical infrastructure, teacher self-efficacy, and technical knowledge were identified as the most important factors underpinning the successful implementation of the program. The model addresses these factors and has considerable potential to impact on educational practice involving ICT in the Hong Kong context.
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Tam, Sze-ying, and 譚思映. "The development of the information and communications technology (ICT)industry in China, 1995-2005." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2006. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B36549265.
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Dydowicz, Jaroslaw. "The development of TESOL teacher beliefs and knowledge in an ICT-enriched CPD environment." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2015. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10021752/.
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This thesis investigates the professional development of TESOL teachers during a postgraduate peer-taught course in English Philology at the Pedagogical University in Krakow, Poland. The analysis, conducted on the basis of a Grounded Theory approach, examines how an ICT CPD course influenced the professional development of forty newly-qualified Polish teachers of English as a Foreign Language, who engaged in peer teaching as a central component of the course. The research uncovers and examines teacher beliefs and knowledge in a setting characterised by a high degree of autonomy. The study proposes that the participants, in order to present themselves as competent and self-assured ELT professionals, acted upon the notion of the ‘good teacher’ through both the tacit and the explicit CMC-based negotiation of a collaboratively structured teaching model consistent with their beliefs. In the process of designing ICT-rich English lessons, the participants, guided by their beliefs, ascribed value to subject-specific pedagogical knowledge and skills, foregrounding pedagogy and normalising the technology. The role of autonomy is confirmed as a prerequisite for the kind of practice which supports and enables the pedagogical development of teachers in such an ICT CPD. The thesis offers an original contribution in its presentation of a new construct for understanding teacher belief in the context of technology-related settings. The Technological Pedagogical and Content Beliefs construct (TPACB) attempts to capture the relationship between different types of teacher beliefs, and complements a parallel knowledge construction model - Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge – by offering a proposition which illuminates the nature of the interplay of the beliefs relevant to the field of TESOL and other areas of education. In addition, the study proposes a model for an ELT CPD practicum which encourages development in pedagogical knowledge and beliefs while promoting the integration of ICT into practice.
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Sallinen, S. (Sari). "Development of industrial software supplier firms in the ICT cluster:an analysis of firm types, technological change and capability development." Doctoral thesis, University of Oulu, 2002. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9514267095.
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Abstract
The present thesis analyses different software supplier types and the development of supplier firms in the context of the Finnish ICT cluster, which underwent rapid growth in the 1990s. The central brand-owner firms in the cluster have been accompanied by a high number of smaller industrial supplier firms that base their business on serving their large customer organisations. The research to date on the ICT cluster has largely focused on understanding the development and purchasing strategies of the large customer firms and thus does not provide a sufficient basis for understanding how supplier firms in the cluster operate and develop. It is this gap that the present study undertakes to address.
The thesis begins by building a theoretical framework that identifies the main factors affecting the development of industrial supplier firms. The inner context of the framework is based on the resource-based view of the firm and the capability approach, while the outer context rests on principles drawn from theories of evolutionary economics. Supplier development is analysed as a change from one firm type to another.
The empirical part of the thesis consists of a quantitative and a qualitative study. The former identifies five software supplier types and elaborates a typology capturing their main features, e.g., key resources, capabilities and operating logic. The latter then applies the theoretical framework in analysing the development of four software supplier firms within the ICT cluster. The empirical analysis generates a number of propositions on the development of software supplier firms that together constitute a description of the firms' typical development path and the most significant resources and capabilities enabling the development identified. The software suppliers' change from providing customised software services towards independent production of software products was found to be extremely difficult. The thesis concludes with a discussion of strategy-level choices that are relevant in managing this type of development.